"Ellis, behind you!"

The boy whirled around at the sound of Rochelle's voice, just in time to be showered in a mist of blood droplets that sprung from the open facial cavity of a zombie, blown apart by the woman's rifle.

The morning was bright and would have been beautiful were the sun not illuminating the aggregation of slaughtered humanity that littered Savannah's streets. The newly formed quartet had managed to escape the now demolished hotel and were making their way cautiously towards Liberty Mall under Ellis's suggestion.

"Thanks, Ro."

"What's the matter, Hun? Still feeling groggy? Let's find a safe place for you to rest up."

"No, no really I'm ok," Ellis wiped the zombie blood off his brow, straightened his posture, and displayed a bright, warm smile, "I 'preciate your concern though. Really I do."

Rochelle narrowed her eyes. She could tell that something was wrong with the young man whom she had instantly warmed up to.

"I know we just met, sweetie, but I'm here for you. So whenever you want to talk, just let me know." The young woman turned to catch up with Coach and Nick, but only took two steps before Ellis stopped her.

"Um, Ro? I'd like to talk now."

A few paces ahead of them, Nick was eyeing Coach uneasily, taking in his eerily familiar features as the older man led the group down the street. The conman quickly assessed that the man had no visible scratches or bite marks.

Nick's head was still pounding, and his rear end was starting to get sore from the vaccine. To make matters worse, he was constantly fighting the urge to vomit for fear that it might cast suspicion on him- perhaps even cause the others to shoot him on sight.

Sweat began to trickle down Nick's forehead, not simply because of the mass of warm, moist, summer-like air moving in from further south, but also because he was tense, nervous, and on edge.

"So, what's- your- name…what's your story?" Nick asked, a bit too loudly.

"Like I said earlier, you can call me Coach. I'm a-"

"Let me guess- a coach?" Nick interrupted, rolling his eyes, "Yeah, I figured as much. Listen, I don't think heading towards some freakin' mall is a good idea. We aren't far from the coast, so it would be a lot quicker getting out of this God-forsaken hell hole of a city if we took a boat."

"Listen, mister!" Coach growled, "I'm takin' us to the mall. That's the plan and we're sticking to it."

"Whoa, there's no need to get pissy!" Nick could feel his headache-induced anger rising, "And anyway, who died and made you the leader?"

"Pissy? This ain't pissy! Keep badmouthin' my home and we'll see what happens!"

"Aw, baby I'm sorry about your friends. I'm sure you'll see them again soon," Rochelle pursed her lips as her thoughts turned longingly to her missing, and presumably dead boyfriend.

Ellis could sense the doubt and strained optimism in Rochelle's voice and was quiet for a moment.

"Keith is..." It had only been a few hours since the helicopter had flown away and already the weight of Keith's absence was crushing him. He could feel the slightest inkling of tears threatening to well up in his eyes, but he successfully held them at bay. Ellis was determined not to let his new companions see him cry.

"From what you've told me, it seems like Keith and Dave are really lucky guys to have you for a friend," Rochelle offered with true sincerity.

"Nah, I was always the lucky one," the boy's face was glowing and just looking at him lifted Rochelle's spirits, "There was this one time when Keith and I-"

"Cue ball!"

"Monkey suit!"

"Butter ball!"

"Punk ass, bitch!"

"Ass wipe! Asshole! FAT ASS!"

"Ok, what in the hell is going on here?" Rochelle exclaimed as she ran over to stop the heated argument that had erupted between Nick and Coach, "You two are grown ass men, so start acting like it!"

"He started it!" Nick yelled.

"Oh dear, God!" Rochelle rolled her eyes and shook her head in disgust.

The four continued on in silence. The tension in the air was almost as oppressively thick as the humidity. Nick had fallen behind the rest of the group, partly because he was pissed off, and partly to conceal his increasingly awkward, splayed limp. His ass was killing him, and the cuts on his leg only made things that much worse.

"Fucking bullshit…" he mumbled as he rubbed his temples. He looked down at the bloodied, yellow shirt wrapped around his leg, then found himself studying the beads of sweat that traveled down the sculpted, sun kissed back of the young man who had so generously donated it to him.

Unbeknownst to any of them, a Hunter was perched atop one of the buildings, observing the survivors as they passed by. It lavishly lapped the blood off of its forearms with a pointed tongue before emitting short, barely audible clicks as it judged the distance between itself and its prey. Like a fox in a hen house, the creature had long since eaten its fill, and was now killing for the sheer sport of it- reveling in the soothing rush of air against its sun-dried skin as it rode the winds with every leap. Ruby fangs glistened as the Hunter chose its target- the one that seemed to lag ever so slightly behind- the one whose steps seemed clumsy- the one whose attention was captured by prey of his own. The Hunter cocked its head to the right and forcefully snorted two puffs of air from its nose.

The beads of the mechanic's sweat gently pooled into, and were absorbed by, the bunched up overall straps tied securely- teasingly- around his hips. Nick watched those hips as they gently swayed with every confident step.

A whiff of a disagreeable, musky odor and a rustle of leaves within the lengthy rows of ornamental scrubs that lined the streets caused the conman to stop abruptly. Unsure of the exact location of the sound, Nick held the small machine gun protectively in front of him. Although he continued to move in the direction of the others, Nick's pace slowed as he kept his gaze on the bushes- unaware that the distance between himself and the rest of the group was increasing with every passing moment. Again Nick fought back the urge to vomit as he stared into the foliage. His finger twitched as it hovered over the trigger. Suddenly, another rustle in the bushes occurred directly behind him and as he whipped around, a Hunter leapt from the bushes. Nick dodged to the side as the creature soared past him and landed between him and the rest of his now distant group.

Nick opened fire as the Hunter performed terrifying feats of agility. It zigzagged nimbly towards him, dodged all of his bullets and purposely forced him to retreat further away from the others. Nick could see Ellis turn around frantically at the sound of his gunfire, but the mechanic was so far away.

The Hunter chased Nick further and further back down the street as it continued its series of zigzagging leaps.

"REEEEEAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Nick ducked immediately upon hearing the horrific scream and the Hunter that had been on the building careened through the air, narrowly missing him before landing right next to the other one.

"Hang on, Nick!" Ellis was sprinting towards them at such a furious pace that he could not keep his pistols steady enough to aim at the two Hunters. Further behind the mechanic, Rochelle stopped running and crouched on one knee, hoping desperately to hit one of the creatures with a well aimed shot from her assault rifle. Even further behind her, Coach was struggling to move more quickly than a brisk jog. The older man had no hope of shooting down anything with his pump shotgun at that distance.

Nick dodged and fired frantically in an attempt to hold his own until Ellis could reach him. He just knew that he had to keep himself from getting bitten long enough for the vaccine to take full effect.

Like a pair of wolves, the Hunters took turns lunging at Nick, each one using half the energy to tire their prey out twice as quickly. Nick pressed his back against the side of a building and shoved one of the creatures back with the broad side of his gun, but before he could aim at the staggered zombie, the other one lunged at him. Again Nick shoved it back, but by this time, the first Hunter had recovered and leapt at him once more.

The conman somehow managed to shove it back yet again, but the force of the pounce knocked him into the wall, and he fell to his knees. His fatigue was building, and he could feel the burning lactic acid accumulating in his arms. His ass was on fire, and combined with his migraine and nausea, Nick was completely overwhelmed.

Just as one of the Hunters crouched for yet another leap, it let out a surprised yelp when Ellis sailed through the air and pounced on top of it.

Nick's jaw dropped as he watched Ellis pin the creature to the ground. The conman could have sworn that the Hunter shared the same look of sheer astonishment- even terror- on its horrible face as the mechanic used its own technique against it. The other Hunter even stopped to stare in apparent confusion long enough for Rochelle to drive several bullets into its back and shoulder. The injured creature screamed and leapt to the side.

"YOU. DON'T. MESS. WITH. NICK!" Ellis screamed and savagely fired both pistols at the pinned Hunter's head. Before dying, the creature managed to take a swipe at the boy's ribs as Ellis filled its face with lead at point blank range.

The second hunter's feet touched the ground for a split second before lunging one final time at Nick. The beast seemed determined to destroy him in particular. Nick watched it approach in slow motion as he aimed the machine gun. He was aware of the hollowed, ocular cavities as the wind swept the hood away from its face, and could see the gaping, lustful, razor lined jaws spread wide. The mouth was open so wide, in fact, that Nick chose to make it his target. His bullets entered the creature's mouth and pierced the base of its skull on their way out.

Although the Hunter was dead, the momentum of its body was not hampered in the slightest by the modest power of Nick's submachine gun. The corpse continued its flight towards him.

Its jaws were still wide open.

They pierced the flesh just above Nick's clavicle.

"Mother fucker!" Nick roared as he pried the lifeless creature off of himself.

He jumped to his feet and spun frantically in all directions, searching in vain for a water fountain, a puddle, anything to wash the virus-laced saliva from his wound. Of course there was nothing of the sort to be found, and Nick grabbed fistfuls of his hair in utter frustration as he let out an avalanche of profanities in the vilest combinations that Ellis had ever heard.

"It's ok, Nick! It's ok!" The mechanic approached him slowly to avoid the conman's fury, "He won't be botherin' you no more. That was a hell of a shot! God damn, you're freakin' amazin'!"

Rochelle and Coach were still a little ways off. Coach had tripped on the way over and the girl was helping him onto his feet.

"That fucking thing bit me, Ellis! Bit me!"

"Yeah, I saw, but you ain't hurt too bad though, right? It don't look too bad at least. It ain't bleedin' much."

"You don't get it, do you kid? Don't you remember what I said? This thing is a virus. If it isn't airborne then what better way for it to spread than from a wound?"

"Ok, ok, calm down," Ellis placed a hand on Nick's shoulder, "We've all been scratched and junk. I mean, just look at what the other one did to me just now. If we were gonna turn inta' zombies, I'm pretty sure it woulda' already happened."

"Maybe you've got nothing to worry about kid, but I- I…"

Ellis watched the panicked look on Nick's pale, sweat drenched face and wished he could ease the man's worries. Hearing Rochelle's words to him just a few minutes ago gave him the courage to offer Nick what she had offered him.

"I'm here for you, Nick. You can tell me anything… I love ta' talk, but I'm a good listener too. Alright?"

For a moment, Nick felt the urge to tell Ellis how horribly ill he was feeling, but the others had now joined them, and he didn't want to say anything in front of Coach.

"Nick, why didn't you speak up earlier if you was havin' trouble?" Coach didn't try to hide his annoyance.

"Maybe it's because I don't need your help. Have you thought about that?" Nick snarled, "And some help you turned out to be anyway. Did you have a nice trip, Coach?"

"Look, as much as I can't stand you, you're still a part of this team and I'm gonna do everything I can to lead all of you out of here. We need to work together if we're gonna make it to the mall."

"How noble of you, old man!" Nick's voice dripped with sarcasm, "Again, who died and made you the leader?"

"I was born and raised here, Nick! I think I know my way to the mall better than a slimy, ne'er do well, tourist like you! God damn, I've never met anyone who could get under my skin the way you do!" Coach was trying his best not to fully lose control of his temper.

"Again with the mall!" Nick threw his hands up in the air, "Alright let's call a vote right now! We can either head towards the God damn mall or head towards the water."

"We can't have a proper vote with an even number of people," Rochelle pointed out, "Besides Nick, I'm pretty sure you're going to lose. I'm siding with Coach on this one. There's another evac taking place there so it's our best bet."

"What do you know about betting, lady?" Nick glared at her, and then turned to Ellis, "Alright kid, what do you say?"

Ellis stammered for a moment.

"Uh…I'm sorry, Nick."

"God damn you people! I think we all got a taste of how a CEDA evac goes down! Those morons have no idea what they're doing! I guarantee you that if we even make it to the mall its gonna end up the same as the hotel. Mark my words!"

"You finished bitchin' and moanin', Nick?" Coach folded his arms. A frown was plastered on his face.

"No! Despite what you may think, I'm not some fucking tourist. I've been down here before, and I was planning on hitting up the riverboat casino. We just have to acquire a boat, any boat, get past the barrier islands and-"

"And then what, Nick? Die out at sea?" Coach scoffed, "We're stayin' on dry land. Three to one. You lose."

Nick gnashed his teeth together and began stepping towards Coach in a threatening manner.

"Oh, so that's how you want it?" Coach snarled and marched right up to meet Nick's approach."

"Knock it off, you two!" Rochelle scrambled up to Coach and grabbed his arm, "You're better than this."

Coach looked down at Rochelle and his expression instantly softened.

"Ha! I knew you were a little bitch!" Nick snarled.

Coach balled his hands into fists and his arms began shaking violently at the conman's taunt. At any moment he was going to swing.

"Crazy weather we're havin' huh, guys?" Ellis shouted in a desperate attempt to diffuse the situation, "Wheeeeeeew weee! I am burnin' up! Are you as hot as me, Nick? It's like it was summer or somethin'!"

Nick stared at the mechanic for a moment then rolled his eyes.

"Are you fucking kidding, Ellis? I'm sweating like a whore in church!"

"Oh yeah?" Ellis grinned, "Well I'm sweatin' like a…like a kiddie fiddler in a Barney suit!"

Nick erupted into a fit of intense laughter. Rochelle held a hand to her mouth and started giggling.

"You and your goofy ass, boy!" Coach folded his arms and began chuckling softly.

Ellis sighed in relief, and wanted to continue with a more lighthearted conversation.

"It's all fun an' games now, but those things really freak me out!"

"What? Kiddie fiddlers or Barney suits?" Nick asked.

"Barney suits," Ellis replied matter of factly, "But it don't have ta' be Barney. It could be any kind a character costume. For instance, when my buddy Keith turned eight years old, he had his birthday party at Chuck e Cheese's, and I was havin' a blast in the ball pen, but then it came time for Keith ta' blow out the candles on his cake. Well, unbeknownst ta' the two of us, that creepy mouse and some crazy purple guy snuck up behind us an'-"

"Alright son, let's get movin'." Coach patted Ellis on the shoulder in a silent 'thank you.'

"Okay."

Rochelle followed closely beside Coach, while Ellis hung back.

"Come on, Nick. I know you ain't happy 'bout it but, well we gotta stick together."

"Screw you, Ellis. I know where your loyalties lie. To think I risked my life for you. I should have just let that little bastard zombie steer you out of that window."

Nick begrudgingly began following Coach and Rochelle, several paces behind them. Ellis walked side by side with Nick. Talking about Keith made the boy remember all of the great times that the two of them had shared. It really lifted his mood.

"Wow, that was you who killed that little thing? I shoulda' known," Ellis said thoughtfully, "Listen, Nick, I just want everyone ta' get along. Coach was my gym teacher back in high school. He's a real nice guy, just like I know you are, deep down."

"You don't know shit about me, Ellis."

"Well, I would like to."

The group continued on towards the mall, and Ellis suggested that they stop at a local gun store to acquire better weaponry.

"Yeah, Jockey!" Ellis shouted, "That's not the first name I woulda' picked for 'em, but I guess it'll do. So now we got's names for all a' them bastards! We did good, Nick."

The divide between Nick and Coach had not resolved simply because the two of them were not speaking with one another. Rochelle had firmly sided with Coach, and barely spoke with Nick. Ellis found himself caught in the middle, quite literally. At least twenty feet of space separated Coach and Rochelle from Nick, and the boy had fallen back to keep the conman company. He liked all three of his new companions and was the only one who could even tolerate Nick, let alone actually like the guy.

"Hey, Nick?"

"Yeah."

"How's your leg?"

"It's fine."

"Hey, Nick?"

"Yeah."

"How's your head?"

"It's fine."

"Hey, Nick?"

"Jesus Christ..."

"What was in that package that you dropped last night?"

Nick remained silent.

"Cuz I thought I saw, I mean, it was hard ta' see through all that wrapping, but I though I saw a…needle."

"So what?"

"Do you do drugs, Nick?" Ellis whispered gravely despite the others being out of earshot.

Nick quickly ran over to a dumpster and vomited on the ground next to it.

"Whoa! You alright?"

"I'm fine, Ellis."

"I'd be a real shame if you did drugs, Nick."

"God damn, it! They were…steroids, alright? Now get off my back!" Nick was too exasperated to explain the truth to the boy.

"Steroids?" Ellis eyed Nick up and down, "Sorry bud, but they don't seem ta' be workin' all that great."

"Ha!" Nick scoffed.

"Now these babies here, they're all natural!" Ellis smiled and flexed his chest and biceps, "I could give you some pointers, if you want."

"Twenty bucks says you've got chicken legs."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Then prove it, Overalls…" Nick's eyes narrowed, but he managed to hide the sly smile that threatened to form across his lips.

"Overalls?"

"Yeah, that's your new nickname."

"Well, I don't like that at all!"

"You don't like overalls?"

"Nope, not one bit."

"Well then why do you wear them? Take them off, chicken legs!" Nick was no longer able to hide his amusement.

"Yeah, I'll prove you wrong, alright!" To Nick's surprise, Ellis began untying the straps of his overalls, but was interrupted by Coach.

"Pick up the pace, you two!"

"Comin' Coach!" Ellis tied up his overalls once more and swiftly pointed a finger at Nick, "You'll be payin' up real soon, just wait an' see." Ellis produced a sly smile of his own and ran ahead to catch up to Coach and Rochelle.

Nick scratched his head and followed behind him.

From his vantage point at the top of a long, narrow walkway, Coach could see a section of the mall's parking lot in the distance. He noticed CEDA's green tarps and tents but could not discern any sign of human activity. Then, he tensed up as he suddenly noticed a small crowd of people running desperately towards the mall's doors, but the surrounding architecture prevented him from seeing if they had made it inside.

Directly below him was the much smaller parking lot of the gun shop. Despite its modest size, it was brimming with zombies and the corpses of the unfortunate people who had tried to enter the store. The door to the place had been destroyed.

"God, I hope there's rescue inside that mall," Rochelle said softly as she walked up next to Coach. The man looked down at the petite, young woman and smiled.

"Even if there 'ain't, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. We'll be alright, so keep your head up."

Rochelle placed her hand gently on Coach's arm.

"You remind me of someone."

"Please don't tell me it's your father."

"No, no. Not at all!" The girl laughed at the worried expression on Coach's face, "We can talk about it later, if we ever get a moment alone that is."

Coach stared down at the zombie-filled parking lot.

"I'll hold you to that," he said gently, then in a much harsher tone, "Ellis! Nick! Game time!"

Once all four of them had gathered in a circle, Coach voiced his strategy.

"Since Rochelle and I have better guns, we'll man the frontline. Ellis, you and Nick are gonna cover our flanks and watch our backs. We need to move quickly. Don't stop unless someone gets into trouble, and if you do run into trouble, give a holler, understand?

"Sir, yes sir!" Ellis shouted and saluted with enthusiasm.

Nick glared at the boy and smacked the cap off his head.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Ellis cried out as he retrieved the hat before the wind could carry it off, "I can put up with a lot, Nick, but keep messin' with the hat and we're gonna have some serious problems!"

A cacophonous chorus resonated from the parking lot below them. The mechanic's yelling had alerted all of the zombies, and they were now rushing up the stairs of the walkway.

"There goes the damn plan!" Coach shouted as he fired his shotgun at the creatures as they funneled tightly onto the staircase. Rochelle joined in, and together they began making short work of the zombies until a Charger surged up the staircase and shoved Rochelle against the chain link fence that enclosed the walkway. The asymmetrical monster then barreled into Coach, and used the older man's body as a battering ram that knocked both Nick and Ellis to the side as it rampaged all the way back down the walkway.

Coach could sense that in mere moments, his no longer spry back would slam into the rapidly approaching concrete wall. The man thrust his long barreled shotgun between the Charger's legs, tripping the beast and sending both of them down to the pavement. The creature's massive weight rolled over Coach, and knocked his breath away. The man crawled over to his gun as the Charger tried to rise.

The misshapen brute had landed on its flimsy left arm, snapping the useless, shriveled appendage in several spots. Like a beached whale, it flailed awkwardly before rolling onto its dominant right side.

Coach found himself scrambling backwards as the Charger repeatedly drove its sledge hammer arm into the ground with each lumbering step. Each strike brought it closer and closer to the winded man. Coach fired and pumped the shotgun until the horrifying click of depleted ammo sent his spirits sinking. Before the behemoth arm could pummel him, a massive, deafening blast hurled the Charger ten feet through the air.

Coach looked behind him in astonishment.

"I think a 'thank you' is in order, Coach!" Nick's voice dripped with pride as he waved a hefty combat shotgun in the air. While Ellis was helping Rochelle back onto her feet, Nick had run into the gun store and grabbed the largest weapon he could find.

"The fuck you talkin' 'bout?" Coach huffed.

"You see that big-armed weirdo on the ground over there? You see how he's not moving? I did that."

"Well if you hadn't made Ellis hoot an' holler-" Coach stopped himself and sighed, "Thanks."

"Yeah, well don't get used to it."

The four survivors gazed at the bountiful array of artillery as they stepped inside the store. Coach took the combat shotgun that Nick had abandoned, and Rochelle replaced her assault rifle with an AK-47. Ellis nearly salivated as he darted from one end of the shop to the other and discovered a chainsaw sitting in the corner.

"I don't even need a gun so long as I have this baby! But, when in Rome…" The mechanic strapped the chainsaw to his back and ran over to the display. "Aw man, how can I possibly choose? Which one are you takin' Nick?"

"I don't know. I was thinking an AK, like Rochelle's."

"Oh sweet, sweet. I might go with the sniper rifle."

"Really, Overalls?"

"Yeah…why? You don't think it's a good choice?"

"It's just that I figured you to be more of the shotgun type," Nick folded his arms and spoke condescendingly, "The tact and sophistication of a sniper rifle seems…beyond you, acutally."

"Oh, excuse me! Well that settles it then. I'm definitely takin' the sniper rifle now!" Ellis brushed past Nick and carefully, almost lovingly, removed the sniper rifle from the wall and ran over to equip the already accurate weapon with a laser sight upgrade.

"Ain't no way Ima' miss them zombies!"

"What in the hell is all the ruckus down there?" A voice boomed over a loudspeaker. "More vandals, I take it!"

"Sir, we apologize, but we need to take some of your merchandise. Without it there's no way we're gonna make it over to the mall." Coach replied through the intercom.

"The mall? The way over there's blocked by a might' impressive pile up a' vehicles. Tell you what, I'll blast a way through if ya'll do me a little favor."

"Blast your way through, huh?" Ellis ran up next to Coach and shouted to the shop's owner, "I bet you're packing some serious heat up there!"

"Only my most valuable piece a' merchandise- an authentic military turret."

"Cool! Do you think I could fire it? Just once?"

"Boy, step away from the loudspeaker!" Coach warned the eager mechanic, then to the store owner, "What kind of favor are you talkin' about, here?"

"Cola…Need...Cola."

"O-kay…"

"There should be a case over at the convenience store across the lot. I dropped it in my rush to lock myself up here, and there's no way I'm going back outside!"

"So all we have to do is bring you some soft drinks?" Coach asked, slightly amused, "I sympathize with your cravings, mister. I myself am starvin' so, yeah, we'll bring you-"

"Not so fast, Coach!" Nick interrupted, "Have you even considered the opinions of the rest of us? I don't trust this guy!"

"Look, Nick…wait a second. Did y'all hear that? What was that growlin' sound?"

"Your stomach," the conman stated flatly.

Coach glared at Nick, but then Rochelle made her way over to the intercom.

"Hello, sir…what's your name, anyway?" she asked.

"Whitaker."

"Yes, Whitaker, now before we agree to run off and get you your Cola, I'm afraid you're going to have to do a little more for us."

"What did you have in mind?"

"We need bottled water, food, medical supplies, anything that you could spare."

"Now that doesn't sound like a fair deal! So you want me to give up some of my rations on top of the guns you stole? All for a measly case of Cola?"

"But that's precisely the point," Rochelle retorted, "You expect the four of us to risk our lives for that measly case of Cola! It's more than a fair deal."

"Careful, now! I just might drink it all up myself!" Ellis shouted.

"Alright, alright! It's a deal!" The panicked shop owner took the mechanic's jovial threat quite literally. He then unlocked the shop's back door. Before the survivors could make it up the stairs to the outside, they came face to face with the largest zombie they had yet seen.

"God damn you, Whitaker!" Nick screamed as the Tank attacked.